The Damned and the Lost
by WiselInfinity
Summary: AU. In a ordinary village, there is a peculiar tradition. This tradition has much deeper roots than just being a old wives' tale, however, as Sakura accidently discovers...


Chapter 1

By WiselInfinity

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><p>Sakura giggled with her myriad of friends, each of them grasping a wooden doll clothed in shiny dresses.<p>

"My doll's the best!" Ino declared without hesitation, proudly displaying her doll wrapped in silk finer than any other girl in the circle. Sakura gawped at it alongside a few others, praising her friend mindlessly. The majority of girls just huffed and looked away in disappointment at being out shined.

"Hey, this is boring, let's play some other game." Aiko, another popular girl, called out. Aiko's followers agreed. Ino looked disappointed, but quickly regained her composure and tried to upstage her enemy.

"Fine, let's play hide and seek then," Ino said smirking, pulling her 'best friend'; Sakura, closer to her, "Aiko can be the seeker!"

All the girls scattered when they heard the declaration, as Sakura felt Ino pulling her with her as she ran. The pink haired child followed Ino's lead, disoriented.

Suddenly, she was lost, Ino had rushed off somewhere and she was alone, in the middle of the forest. She stumbled helplessly in the dense foliage, gazing around wildly in hopes of seeing her blonde friend, but to no avail. Sakura was reduced to desperately calling for help, and just as she lost hope she saw a shadow flitter in her peripheral vision, she suddenly felt unnerved, and unsafe in the forest that she had grown up playing in. Sakura continued stumble through the forest until she came into the open and saw a ravine, a worn wooden bridge dangled across it.

Suddenly she saw something, a tall figure crossing the bridge, she blinked, confused as the person slowly approached her, she stood motionless, curiosity etched into her face. When the stranger was near enough for her to discern his features, she was surprised to see he was a boy, not much older than her, with spiky hair tied up. She could've_ sworn_ that he was much more taller…

"Leave." He said to her calmly in a surprisingly mature voice for a 5 year old. Sakura paid no attention to such a trivial thing, and focused on her dilemma instead.

"But… I'm lost!" Sakura cried hopelessly, then added, "Please help me find the village?" The boy huffed in annoyance, and said nothing. Sakura was about to thank him for his silent agreement to guide her back, when the mysterious boy hit the back of her neck, knocking her out. She felt herself falling to the ground, and she lost all consciousness.

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><p>After the event, she woke up in her bedroom with her mother hovering worriedly over her.<p>

She was convinced that the ordeal was just a dream, that there wasn't a boy in the forest. She just passed out in the forest playing - that was all. It was a reasonable explanation, until she met Sasuke… albeit she had nearly not recognized him since he had cut his hair. She was enamored with him for saving her life; she was drawn to him for some reason.

Sakura wanted to thank him, but somehow every time she approached him the words got stuck in her throat, and she was left stuttering in front of him like an idiot. So she resorted to watching him from the shadows… and carefully planning on becoming his wife...

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><p>Her vivid green eyes narrowed in irritation, as she absently jingled the bag of coins in her hand, eyeing the various neatly organized jars in rows. The shop was too cramped for her taste, and the lightning was dim, the only saving point was that it was meticulously clean. The man, after all, was a perfectionist.<p>

She'd never liked coming to Sasori's shop; even if the strange man had the best herbs and solutions she could find in the small town, she much preferred the quaint little shop near the seafront, as the atmosphere wasn't oppressive unlike here. She sighed, tucking in a stray strand of hair whilst she contemplated on how to gain Sasori's attention. She needed that rare herb for a little sweet girl that'd fallen sick, plus she needed to be back soon to prepare dinner for her parents.

Just that herb, and she'd be out of here, Sakura reassured herself. She heard a barely audible scuffle and squeak, as Sasori trotted in to the shop's front. He stared at her impassively, his hunched form made him difficult to approach.

"Could I buy this herb, 100 grams of it, please?" Sakura said quickly, anxious to leave to attend to her sickly patient. She winched at the raspy voice that spoke.

" No, I'm busy. Now shoo, girl." He bluntly stated with a sharp glare, before shuffling back into the storeroom. Sakura gaped at his behavior. _Fine!_ She thought viciously, she'd just pick some in the forest, let the man suffer in poverty.

Huffing sourly at being denied the resource she needed, despite the fact that Sasori knew very well she was the best healer in the village. She pulled her worn kimono tighter against her lithe frame, to protect from the chilly winds as she started her journey to the forest. It was urgent, or else she'd never resort to such drastic measures.

Her hands strained to grapple herself onto the rough stone surface, as she swayed precociously on the cliff. She sweated with the exertion to pull herself up. Fear gripped her as she tried to block out the noises of the stream bubbling down below.

The rocky stones that were littered in the water didn't help her concentration. She could see the jagged edges waiting to impale her helpless body, and that image was a very unpleasant one. She bit her lip, drawing blood, and with one last burst of adrenaline she gripped the stone and hauled herself up slowly and painfully. In the process, her dainty bracelet caught onto one of the rocks, snapping soundlessly and cleanly, barely hanging on the rock's jagged tip. Sakura, too concentrated on her efforts to save her life, did not notice this minor loss.

"Fuck…" She muttered as she saw her bloodied knee, cursing the village elders for not maintaining the bridge properly.

Sakura glanced back, inspecting the bridge. She swore at her luck when she saw that the cause had only been two loose wooden planks that had failed to support her weight, luckily near enough the end of her bridge for her to grapple herself onto the rocky cliff during her fall.

Sakura panted in exertion, and blinked slowly to clear her vision. She saw happily that all her efforts had not been wasted. Sakura saw the little plant growing near the gnarled roots of an ancient tree. Sighing, she pulled herself up and approached the tree to claim her prize.

Wearied by the trip, she stumbled blindly towards it and carelessly grasped the plant, tearing it out of the soil and stuffing it into her small pouch hastily. The pink haired girl then navigated her way back to the village, bloodied and wearied but nonetheless satisfied that she'd saved a child's life for her efforts. On her way back, she was careful to avoid the gaping hole in the primitive bridge, and was cautious to not try and overexert her damaged knee.

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><p>"I'm back!" Sakura called out when she finally entered her house, of course after going back to the girl's house and finishing up the powder from the herb, then delivering the medicine to Himeki's house.<p>

"Sakura, what took you so long to go over and heal that girl- oh my! What did you get into?" Her mother called out as she was cooking, and rapidly changed the subject when she saw her daughter's dishevelled appearance. Sakura gritted her teeth in anger as she recalled her experience.

"That ugly old fat man refused to sell me a important herb, I had to get it myself!" She vented her anger, as she hobbled to a table to nurse her wounds.

Her gaze shifted to notice her mother doing a chore she should be doing, "Sorry!" She blurted out, but her mother only gave her a dismissive wave before continuing on her cooking.

"Don't worry about it, Sakura, don't overwork yourself."

Sakura could only nod, grateful her mother even in her old age was so understanding. She pulled out her medical kit and continued to examine her injuries.

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><p>Dinner was a silent affair at the Haruno household, and once Sakura finished her meal, she rushed to her bedroom to prepare for a important meeting.<p>

Once back at her safe haven, washed and rested, Sakura took time to stared into the night sky through her window, the soft pink petals of her namesake drifted, helping her to relax. Her cherry blossom tree was in full bloom, and it'd be Hanami soon. At this thought Sakura sighed, her hands drifting upwards to adjust the jeweled ornament in her hair. She'd never considered herself a vain person, but tomorrow's occasion was so special that she'd borrowed her mother's most prized kimono.

How she wished Sasuke would join her once for Hanami, but alas he had always rejected her advances unless pushed to do so by his parents. She was startled out of her thoughts by a sudden loud noise. Why couldn't she relax just for once, whilst preparing an outfit for tomorrow's meeting with her betrothed?

Angrily, Sakura stomped out to welcome her unexpected guest. The floorboards creaked in protest against her abuse as she swung open the door to reveal a young man with sleek black hair much like Sasuke's, except tied in a ponytail.

Her intended fusillade of insults faltered at the sight of Itachi, looking slightly anxious, the words stuck in her suddenly dry throat. What could've gotten Itachi so anxious and exerted? She pondered for a moment, until Itachi spoke in a grave tone.

"Another has gone missing, it was Ino," his eyes gleamed with slight regret, before he continued, " those two previous disappearances were no mere coincidences…"

Sakura blankly looked up to him, before registering the news in her mind.

" I see..." Her voice quivered slightly in sorrow as she averted her gaze to the floor. Their numbers had been dwindling since the start of the disappearances. Now it was one or her closest friends, even if Ino hated her for trying to marry Sasuke, Sakura had always regarded her as her best friend.

"Sorry to intrude upon you, I'll take my leave now," Itachi said flatly, before turning around and starting the trek back to the Uchiha compound.

Sakura could only gaze at the slowly departing figure underneath a rapidly darkening sky, before she snapped out of her reverie and shut the door, dreading the night.

"Sakura, who was it?" her mother called from her room.

"Just Itachi… Ino's disappeared." She called out in a slightly sombre tone.

Her mother said nothing , whilst her father only grunted in response.

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><p>Listlessly, she turned in her bed, a thick layer of cold sweat clung to her as she pulled the blankets closer to her. She heard her mother and father snoring softly through the draughty, thin walls. Although this reassured her, she couldn't stop wild thoughts of fear occupying her mind.<p>

Her nails dug into the palm of her hands, as she thought through the case, all the people who disappeared had nothing in common. The victim were all selected randomly, so nothing much was remarkable about a string of disappearances, after all disappearances of people happened all the time. Except one thing that hinted it was the work of a paranormal being – they were kidnapped on the night of the full moon.

It was the tradition of this village that no one; young or old were to leave their house during that day each month. There were various folklore stories about this, and none of them were appropriate for the intended audience.

Sakura knew better to believe in such superstitions, but she couldn't help but submit to the fear that had been instilled in her heart by countless tales during her childhood about this tradition. She shifted her head upwards, so she could stare at the plain wooden ceiling and tried to think of how exciting her day would be tomorrow! Healing old people… More healing… making salves… and her long awaited meeting with her soon-to-be parent in laws! She brightened up considerably. Plus, she'd wear the bracelet that her love's parents had bought her; she knew they expected her to wear it next meeting to show her appreciation.

Then she realized in a panic, it'd not been present on her since the brief trip into the forest near the lovers' bridge. Frantically, she sat up and grasped her wrist, validating the loss of her bracelet. She wouldn't have time to retrieve it in the morning; she'd have to retrieve it _now._

She gripped her fists in anger, and once her fury had subsided, it was replaced by hopelessness. She'd never win Sasuke's love if she failed this hurdle; she was closer than ever to gain his parent's approval for their wedding to commence. She gained the envy and hate of all of Sasuke's admirers, making her have a considerably smaller social network amongst her peers than most, but it was worth it, after all she was the one who had gained the attention of his parents. This (maybe) failure brought back the sweet memory of how she became enamoured with him, following their first meeting in the woods.

A doubt had more than once crossed her mind about the boy, and whether or not he was Sasuke. Why would Sasuke be in the forest, near the supposedly unused and haunted 'lover's bridge?' She tried to concentrate on her fuzzy memories, as she discovered she could not even be sure about the mysterious boy's hair colour. Come to think of it, why was it called that, Sakura wondered? She'd only heard of it when she asked her mother about a bridge in the middle of a forest, but was too scared to inquire further about the tragic story behind it.

With sudden resolution, Sakura decided that she'd retrieve the bracelet, she slipped out of her futon soundlessly and peered out of the window.

She groaned in despair when the perfect silver disc of the moon greeted her. Nonetheless, the stories where not going to deter her from her quest, after all it was just a simple wives' tale, although one that all of the villagers took seriously and made it a village tradition.

Stealthily, she crept and grabbed her outdoor kimono, quickly changed into it and set off into the forest. Her mind kept playing out all the most pessimistic situations she could land herself in by creeping out like this, and those thoughts were distracting as they were scary. She tried to brush them into a corner of a mind, but she was plagued with them as she journeyed to the outskirts of the village that just a around a few minutes away from her house.

The dense canopy of the forest added with her only source of lighting that was the weak glow from the full moon, made it nearly impossible to see. She cursed herself mentally for not taking a lamp with her, as she groped wildly around her to avoid crashing into the trees. The darkness was beginning to unnerve her, as this was the first time she'd been in the forest, alone and in the dark. Her resolve kept her going, and she knew the forest well enough to head to the general direction of lovers' bridge.

Sakura began to feel her resolve weaken as flittering shadows and the occasional rustle of a leave began to spook her out, but she was near her destination for her to turn back empty handed. So she continued, trying to keep calm, and sped up her pace a little.

When she finally got there, to a little clearing around the bridge, she squinted and to her delight, she saw the faint glimmer of her bracelet on the other side of the ravine. Suddenly, the atmosphere became relaxed, as she heard the faint melodious humming resonating throughout the gloomy forest, with no apparent singer… Her eyes began to droop, and astoundingly she was not afraid, the air was filled with what looked like glowing fireflies as they arrived in hoards from an unclear direction.

The humming and the light made her feel safe and it was lulling her to sleep, her movements became sluggish, as she felt compelled to move towards the bridge. Slowly, she found herself helplessly ambling slowly across the bridge. She knew she had to regain her control, and forced herself to turn around when a faint, ghostlike wraith appeared, in the form of her beloved.

Sasuke smiled at her, making her heart jolt in happiness. He looked so beautiful, so elegant in that pale form. Entranced in the image, she rushed towards it when it beckoned to her, a ghostly inhuman hand reaching out to her. Everything was hazy when she stumbled towards the apparition, and she slumped into unconsciousness, feeling herself fall into the hole. The air rushed, making her feel cool… a corner of her mind was urging her to open her eyes, but all she could do was close her eyes and smile serenely, unable to stop her descent.

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><p>Sakura woke up in a jolt. Confused, she surveyed her surroundings, thoughts swirling in her mind like a vortex.<p>

Was she dead? She wondered, as she glanced around. Either her vision was impaired somehow, because everything was grey. Yes, grey, one word that accurately described where she was.

Everything looked like, quite literally, the colour had been sucked out of it. The sunlight was grey, and she was the only one that was any shade other than grey.

She was surprised to see herself dressed in the worn blue kimono she had put on prior her death. Maybe she had gone to hell, she thought grimly, a fucked up hell where she would go crazy seeing everything the same colour.

Then she realized, she was in an incredibly bland room (even if it wasn't grey). There was just a bed, and a bathroom that she'd examined only contained a toilet and a sink. There was also a plain wooden desk in another corner of the room, adjacent to the bed, alongside a chair placed at the desk.

Once Sakura was done exploring the incredibly small bedroom, she turned to stare through the windows, that weren't really windows because even the glass was a misty opaque grey. She frowned at the stupidity of making nonexistent windows, whilst she crossed the room and tried tugging at the door, but it wouldn't budge. Mutely, she stared at the door, willing it to open with her mystical mind powers that she'd surely gained in this hell (or heaven, as unlikely as it is seeing her current predicament).

She failed at that attempt, and sat down dejectedly on her bed. A sudden creak of the door and her gaze snapped on the opening door, mesmerized as it creaked open slowly to reveal an orange masked man, in a heavy black cloak that obscured his body completely. An undoubtedly masculine voice greeted her, although it was rather high pitched, like a prepubescent boy's.

"Hi!" He said with childish enthusiasm.

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><p>Disclaimer: On profile.<p>

A/n:

Still need a beta reader for this...

This was written a month ago as the start of a sudden idea. When i rediscovered it, i decided to post it up anyway. I am going to continue with this, when i get the chance to since i had planned out most of the story.


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